woodwork inherited from the medieval period a high standard of joinery and carving, with a preference for all-over patterning on pieces of importance. Many of the newer designs accorded with the earlier repertoire, such as vine trails and interlacing, whilst the serpents and mythical beasts fitted with the narrative tradition, which itself overlapped with a particular view of heraldry. Others such as palmettes and arcading were used as decoration and often interpreted in free and inventive ways, whilst Romayne heads were developed into a form of portraiture. A specifically Welsh style arose with a particular fusion between the existing tradition and the new forms of decoration; the latter became imbued with a meaning they lacked before transmission into a form that continued to emphasise symbolism and narrative..."